KELLY THOMPSON'S POV

The sharp, metallic scent of blood seeped into my senses before the news even reached my ears. I stood, rigid and alert, as Beta Lucas burst through the grand doors of the council chamber, his form tense with urgency.

"Your Majesty, Luna Queen," Lucas said, his breaths coming in heaves. "There's been an incident-a violent clash between our kind and the humans at the border."

A cold shiver ran down my spine, and the hairs on the back of my neck prickled with the gravity of ...